Saturday, July 24, 2004

POLICE CHASE
Just before noon yesterday, two occupants of a pickup failed to pay for gas in the Wawa area. The gas station attendant got a description of the vehicle and the plate number (which turned out to be stolen) and notified the O.P.P. who located the truck travelling south on Highway 17 in the Pancake Bay area.

When officers tried to stop the truck, the suspects increased speed to avoid apprehension. Police called off the pursuit for safety reasons but other officers stationed on the highway near Batchewana deployed a spike belt when they spotted the truck.

As the tires on the truck started to deflate, the driver drove it into a ditch and fled the scene on foot.

Local businesses, homeowners and cottagers in the Batchewana area were notified of the occurrence by the O.P.P. and were provided descriptions of the two suspects. A ground search of the area was called off at 4:00 p.m.

At about 7:30 p.m., an alert citizen spotted the two near Sand Point Road and called police who converged on the area with a canine unit. Within a half hour, the two suspects were located hiding in the bush. The two were taken into custody without further incident.

The two men, ages 19 and 23 from Vancouver and Port Hope, British Columbia, are in police custody and are facing a list of charges from dangerous driving, failing to stop for police and possession of stolen property.

The two will likely appear in Sault Ste. Marie court on Monday morning.